Self-starter for hydrocarbon-engines.



W. McK. CRAIG.

SELF STARTER FOR HYDROOARBON ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED 0GT.21. 1913.

1,124,866. Patented Ja11.12,1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

Witnesses Inventor Attorneys W. MoK. CRAIG.

SELF STARTER FOR I IYDROGARBON ENGINES. APPLICATION FILED OCT. 21, 1913.

1 1 24,86 6, v Patented J an. 12, 1 915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

M-ii Witnesses l/ by I '0 Attorneys rrnu WILLIAM MGKEN'DREE CRAIG, 0F HEALDSBURG, CALIFORNIA.

SELF-STARTER FOR HYDROCARBON-ENGINES;

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 12, 1915.

Application filed October 21, 1913. Serial No. 796,477.

T 0 all whom it m (19 concern Be it known that 1, WILLIAM McKnNonnn CRAIG, a citizen of the United States, residing at Healdsburg, in the county of Sonoma and State of California, have invented. a new and useful Self-Starter for Hydrocarbon-Engines, of which the following 1s a specification.

This invention relates to self starters for hydrocarbon engines, one of its ob ects be- 'ing to provide a simple and compact mechanation and arrangement of parts and in v the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed, can be made within the scope of what is claimed, without departing from the spirit of the invention. y

In the accompanying drawings the preferred form'of the invention has been shown. In said drawings :Figure '1 is a plan view of the starter. Fig. 2 is a section on line A--B Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a section on line CD Fig. 1, said structure being viewed in the direction of arrow (1. Fig. 4 is a section on line CD Fig. 1, the structure being viewed in the direction of arrow 6. Fig. 5 is a detail view of the cam ring. Fig. 6 is a detail view of a crank which may be used to initially set the starter. Fig. 7 is a detail view of the outer and inner sleeves carried by the motor shaft adjacent the front end thereof.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference 1 designates a suitable housing which may be attached to the front of an automobile or other structure utilizing a hydro-carbon engine and extending through this housing is "the motor shaft 2 having a radial pin in its front e'ndportion, as shown at 3. Mounted on said end portion of the shaft is a cap 4 provided at its inner end with a clutch face 5, there being a spring 6 interposed between the end of the shaft 2 and the cap 4 so as to hold the cap normally in a predetermined position relative to the shaft. The pin 3 extends through diagonal slots7. in the cap so that, when the cap is turned in one direction on the shaft it will bedirected longitudinally along the shaft in one direction and, when the cap is rotated in the opposite direction, it will be :hifted longitudinally in the opposite direcion.

Guide rails 8 are arranged at opposite sides of the shaft 2 and within the-housing 1, these rails being connected by a cross bar 9 which is fixedly mounted and which carries a ring 10 upstanding therefrom and having opposed cam faces 11 and 12. Ring 10 is concentric with the shaft 2.

Shaft 2 extends through the ends of a frame 13 which bears downwardly on the rails 8 andis adapted to slide longitudinally thereof, the sides of the frame being held to the rails 8 by brackets 14 which slidably engage the rails as shown'particularly in Figs. 2 and 3. A cylindrical drum 15 is located within the frame and secured to one side thereof and a disk 16 is arranged within the frame and secured to the other side thereof, this disk and the drum both being circular and that face of the drum nearest the disk 16 being open.

Mounted for rotation on the shaft 2 and i within the drum 15 is a main sleeve 17,

there being a coiled starting spring 18 secured at its inner end to this sleeve and at its outer end to the peripheral portion of I.

the drum 15. A ratchet disk 19 is secured to sleeve 17 within the drum 15 and. close to spring 18. That end of sleet e 17 remote from the disk 19 has tongues 20 extending into slots 21 formed in a clutch sleeve 22 which is slidably mounted on the shaft 2 and is adapted to move into and out of engagement with aclutch member 23 secured to and revoluble with the shaft 2. A clutch lever 24 is fulcrumed on one of the rails lar 26. thereby bringing the clutch mem-' ber 22 into engagement with the clutch member 23 without, however, disengaging clutch member 22 from the sleeve 17. other words, longitudinal adjustment of the clutch member 22 is permitted without uncoupling it from the main sleeve 17, this being due to the peculiar arrangement of the tongues 20 and the slots 21.

Extending radially from the main sleeve 17 is a lug 27 adapted, during the rotation of the main sleeve, to move against and actuate a gear 28 extending from the end of an intermediate sleeve 29 which is mounted for rotation on sleeve. 17. This intermediate sleeve has a lug 30 extending radially therefrom and which is adapted, during the rotation of the intermediate sleeve 29, to move against an ear 31 extending from the end of an outer sleeve 32. This outer sleeve is mounted for rotation on the sleeve 29 and within thecam ring 10 and has spaced pins 33 and 34 adapted to cooperate with the faces 11 and 12 respectively of the ring 10.

Loosely mounted on the shaft 2 between drum 15 and disk 16 is the hub 35 of an annular gear 36, the hub being connected to the gear by means of spokes 37 extending to one side of the gear, the other side of the gear being supported close to the disk 16. Intermediate gears 38 are supported by the disk 16 and mesh with gear 36 at diametrically opposed points and also mesh with a central gear 39 at diametrically opposed points, this central gear being fastenedto a sleeve 40 adapted to rotate freely on shaft 2. Sleeve 40 has forwardly extending tongues 40 surrounded at their outer ends by and secured to or formed with an extension sleeve 41 which has a clutch face 41 at its outer end and an inner sleeve 42 is slidably mounted in the outer or extension sleeve 41 and is adapted to slide relative to sleeve 40 but is incapable of rotating independently thereof because the tongues 40 project into slots 42 in the inner sleeve 42. This inner sleeve or clutch member is held projected beyond the clutch face 41 by a spring 43 which bears at one end against the frame 13 and at its other end against the inner end of the sleeve 42 to which is secured a ring 43 designed to move against the rearedge of the extension sleeve 41, thus to limit the forward or outward movement of sleeve 42 under the action of the spring 43.

.Pivotally mounted upon one of the spokes 37 of the annular gear 36 is a pawl 44 which is held pressed yield-ingly against the periphery of ratchet disk 19, by a spring 45 one end of which is attached to the spoke 37. This pawl has a tongue 46 at its free end adapted to be engaged by a dog 47 which extends loosely between the drum 15 and the annular gear 36 and is pivotally connected toone arm of a bell crank lever 48 fulcrumed on one side of the frame. A link 49 connects the other arm of the bell crank lever to the clutch shifting lever 24 so that, when clutch sleeve 22 is shifted out of engagement with the clutch member 23, the bell cranklever 48 is actuated so as to swing dog 47 inwardly and laterally out of en gagement with the tongue 46, thus releasing pawl 44 and permitting it to spring inwardly into engagement'with the ratchet disk 19.

The annular gear 36 is provided, in its outer face or. periphery with a notch 50 adapted to receive a detent 51 pivotally mounted on one side of frame 8, there being a spring 52 for pressing the detent against the periphery of the annular gear 36. i

Let it be presumed that the starting mechanism is set. Under these conditions the spring 18 is wound, one end of the spring being attached to the drum 15 while the other end is attached to' the main sleeve 17. Sleeve 17 is held against rotation by the pawl 44 which engages the ratchet disk 19 and thus couples it to the annular gear 36 which, in turn, is held against rotation by the detent 51 seated in notch 50. The clutch members 22 and 23 are out of engagement with each other and the same is likewise true of the clutch faces 5 and 42. v i

I When it is desired to start the engine, the lever 24 is shifted in the direction indicated by the arrow. This throws the sleeve 22 1011.-

gitudinally so as to con le to the clutch member 23 on shaft 2. the link 49 pulls on bell crank lever 48 and this lever pulls on the dog 47 thus swinging t the same time I the pawl 44 out of engagement with the ratchet disk .19. Consequently the spring 18, which is under stress, is released and operates to rotate sleeve 17 and sleeve 22. Shaft 2 is of course rotated with sleeve 22 by reason of the clutch member 23 engaging sleeve 22. During the first rotation of sleeve 17 under the action of spring 18, lug or pin 27 moves against ear 28 thus transmitting motion to the intermediate sleeve 29 and during the second rotation of shaft 2 lug or pin 30 moves against ear 31 and causes the outer sleeve 32 to rotate. Thus the pin 34 moves along the cam face 12 and gradually shifts sleeve 32 longitudinally a ainst the frame 13, causing the frame to sli e along the rails 8 and causing the sleeves 17 and 40 to slide along the shaft 2. As a result of this sliding movement the clutch face 42 will be brought into engagement with the clutch face 5 so that the shaft 2, which is now being rotated by the started engine, will be coupled through the clutch members 5 and 42 to the sleeve 40 and, consequently, will cause said sleeve to rotate with the shaft 2. As the saidv sleeve 40 rotates gear 39 also revolves and transmits motion through the gear '38 to the:

annular gear 36. As lever 24 and the parts connected thereto are promptly shiftedback to normal positions by spring 25as soon'as frictional engagement between clutch member 23 and sleeve 22 is broken by'reason of the starting of shaft 2 under its own power, it will be apparent that pawl 44 will be at the same time returned into engagement with the ratchet disk 19 so that, during the rotation of the annular gear 36 by the power driven shaft 2 in the manner hereinbefore described, the ratchet disk 19 will be rotated with'the annular gear 36. During the first two or three revolutions of the disk 19, spring 18 will be wound about the sleeve 17 and the lug 27 will strike ear 28 and lug" 30 will strike ear 31., thus gradually moving the pin or projection 33 along the face 11 of cam 10 and shifting sleeve 32 away from frame 13. Spring 43 will thus push the frame 13 longitudinally along the rails 8 until the clutch member 42 is ultimately disengaged from the clutch face 5, thus uncoupling shaft 2 from the starting mechanism. Just prior to the disengagement of the clutch members 42 and 5, the notch 50 arrives in positlon under or opposite the detent 51 so that, when the starting mechanism becomes uncoupled from shaft 2, the annular gear. is held against return movement and unwmding of spring 18 is thus prevented. Furthermore just prior to the uncoupling of the shaft 2 from the starting mechanism, the pawl 44 slips under the dog 47 and becomes engaged thereby. Thus the parts are reset and, when lever 24 is shifted in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 1 as hereinbefore described, the action already described will-be repeated.

If desired a suitable crank 53 can be placed over cap 4 and clutch member 42 and into engagement with clutch member 41 so as thus to wind the spring 18 without assistance from the motor.

What is claimed is 1. The combination with a starting spring, a sleeve connected thereto, a winding gear, a slidable structure carrying the spring and gear, and a coupling between the gear and sleeve, of a motor shaft, means for holding the gear against rotation after the spring has been wound, means under the control of the operator for simultaneously uncoupling the sleeve from the held gear and coupling the sleeve to the shaft to release the spring a'nd start the shaft, means for couplin the gear and spring subsequent to the startlng of the shaft, and means operated by the spring propelled sleeve for shifting the structure and coupling the gear to the shaft, said structure shifting means including a cam, and means actuated by the sleeve and coiiperating with the cam during a portion of the rotation of the sleeve for bearing against and sliding the structure.

2. The combination with a starting spring, a sleeve connected thereto, a winding gear, a slidable structure carrying the spring and gear, and a coupling between the gear and sleeve, of a motor shaft,

a clutch member thereoIl, a clutch member movable with the structure, means for holding the gear against rotation when the" spring is wound, means under the control of the operator for simultaneously uncoupling the'sleeve from the held gear and coupling thesleeve to the shaft to release the spring and start the shaft, and means operated by the spring propelled sleeve for shifting the structure, the second mentioned clutch member being revoluble with the winding gear and shiftable with the structure into engagement with the clutch memher on the shaft to couple the gear to the gear movable therewith, a sleeve revoluble on the shaft and including a clutch member, means for transmitting motion from the sleeve to the winding gear, a spring movable with the frame, a main sleeve revoluble upon the shaft and connected to one end of the spring, the other end of the spring being fixed relative to the frame, means for cou pling the winding gear to the spring, means under the control of the operator for simultaneously uncoupling the winding gear from the spring and shifting the last named sleeve into engagement with one of the clutch members on the shaft, means for engaging the winding gear to hold it against rotation in one direction subsequent to the winding of the spring, and means operated by the main sleeve during the rotation thereof while driving the shaft, for shifting the frame and the first named sleeve, to couple said first named sleeve to the other clutch member on the shaft.

4. The combination with a motor shaft and opposed clutch members revoluble therewith, of a structure slidable longitudinally of the shaft, a winding gear supported thereby, a sleeve movable with the structure, means for transmitting motion from saiclsleeve to the winding gear, said sleeve including a clutch face, a second sleeve upon the shaft, a starting spring fixedly connected at one end relative to the structure and secured at its other end to said second sleeve, means for holding the winding gear against rotation in one direction, means for coupling said winding gear to the second sleeve, means for simultaneously coupling said second sleeve to one of the clutch members upon the shaft and uncoupling the winding gear from the spring and its sleeve, means operated by the spring actuated sleeve for shifting the structure during the completion of the rotation of said sleeve, thereby to couple the first mentioned sleeve to the adjacent clutch member on the shaft, and means for automatically uncoupling the shaft from the sleeve of the winding gear.

5. The combination with a motor shaft, a sleeve thereon, and a spring for rotating the sleeve, of a slidable frame supporting the spring, concentric sleeves mounted upon the first named sleeve, means for holdlng the spring under stress, means for s1multaneously releasing the spring and coupling the sleeve to the shaft to transmit motion from the spring to the shaft, means upon the sev eral A sleeves for successively transmitting masses motion from one sleeve to the other, during the rotation of the first named sleeve under the action of the starting spring, and means cooperating with the last actuated sleeve for shifting the frame and coupling the spring to the shaft to Wind said spring When the shaft is started.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as 1y own, I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

WILLIAM MOKE NDR-EE GRAIG.

Witnesses.

B. F. CRYSTAL, Gm J. Moonn. 

